In motor vehicles such as vans or minibuses, it is oftentimes desirable to remove one or more of the vehicle seats from therewithin for purposes of increasing the available storage space or allowing easy access to the interior portions of the vehicle during cleaning. In the prior art, a number of release mechanisms have been developed for purposes of allowing one or more vehicle seats to be selectively removed from within the interior of the vehicle.
One such prior art release mechanism comprises a plate member which is attached to the floor portion of the vehicle and defines an elevated surface having a generally circular configuration. Disposed about the periphery of the elevated circular surface are a plurality of detents, while formed in the central portion of the elevated surface is a generally circular recessed portion. The elevated surface further includes a guide member extending upwardly therefrom and an aperture disposed therein. The prior art release mechanism further comprises a support member which is rigidly attached to the bottom of the vehicle seat and adapted to be releasably engageable to the base member. Similar to the base member, the bottom surface of the support member defines an elevated surface having a generally circular configuration. Disposed about the periphery of the elevated circular surface are a plurality of lock members, each of which are sized and oriented to be selectively receivable into a corresponding one of the detents disposed within the base member. Additionally, formed upon the central portion of the elevated surface is a raised portion which has a generally circular configuration and is sized to be receivable into the recessed portion of the base member in a nested fashion. The elevated surface of the support member further includes an arcuate slot disposed therein which is adapted to receive the guide member, and a spring-loaded pin member extending downwardly therefrom which is adapted to be receivable into the aperture of the base member.
In the prior art release mechanism, the vehicle seat is attached to the base member by orienting the seat such that each of the lock members of the support member is received into a corresponding one of the detents, and the raised portion of the support member is received into the recessed portion of the base member. To aid in achieving such alignment, the guide member is initially received into the arcuate slot of the support member. After the lock members have been received into the detents, the vehicle seat is rotated so as to cause a stem portion of each lock member to be received into a complimentary notch portion of each detent. When the stem portions of the lock members are fully received into the notch portions of the detents, the spring-loaded pin of the support member is received into the aperture of the base member. To remove the vehicle seat from the base member, the pin member is pulled upwardly so as to remove the same from within the aperture. Thereafter, the vehicle seat is rotated in a manner operable to remove the stem portions of the lock members from within the notch portions of the detents. The vehicle seat is then lifted upwardly so as to remove each of the lock members from within the detents.
As will be recognized, to engage the vehicle seat to the base member in the prior art release mechanism, the guide member must first be received into the arcuate slot, with each of the lock members then being properly oriented relative the detents and the raised portion being properly oriented relative the recessed portion. After each of these components has been aligned in the aforementioned manner and the lock members received into the detents, the vehicle seat is then rotated to rigidly secure the support member to the base member and to cause the spring-loaded pin to be received into the aperture. Additionally, the vehicle seat cannot be removed from the base member until the spring-loaded pin is pulled upwardly and removed from within the aperture and the seat rotated and lifted upwardly to remove the lock members from within the detents. Though the prior art release mechanism serves to removably attach the vehicle seat to the base member, such attachment and removal is a difficult and time-consuming task due to the necessity of having to properly align various components of the base member and support member. The present invention overcomes these and other deficiencies associated with prior art vehicle seat release mechanisms by providing a quick release pedestal which is configured to eliminate the necessity of having to properly orient large numbers of components to releasably secure the vehicle seat to its associated base member.